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[Sahar Hussain]

Ali - The Oppressed One.

The radiation of words;
exposing cryptic expressions of the heart
Oh explorer of salvation;
follow my trails, as I reveal the notion of love today,
escaping the clutches of ambiguity.
Oh wanderer in the darkness of the night,
hear me relay the beauties of my beloved.
My sentiments are no longer eclipsed;
I sense light amid this mist of perplexity
The tears that spring from my eye,
account for my admiration,
as I write in praise of Al-Haider.
I ask the Yathrib's sky, of Ali's whereabouts,
and it directs me towards a water-well.
" Guide me towards my Master, "
I begged the burrowing moon.
" I am a lover clothed with despair,
abandoned in Rasul'Allah's land. "
" Seek the house with a burnt door "
cried the moon, exhaling the air of solitude.
I have heard my Ali is oppressed,
after Zahra's departure, he is forlorn of comfort.
With whom does my Master now confine,
the painful sighs of his heart.
If my mistress restricted her mournful cries,
to the loci of Bait Al-Hazin;
then may sorrow dwell in my heart,
for Ali Al-Murtaza is companionless!
Where is Salman, Maisam and Aba Dhar,
where are my Imam's loyal associates?
Rise Oh faithful devotees,
rise and see your dearest Ali,
sharing his whispers with the water-well.
The dark night shadows upon my grief,
as I walk past the forsaken alleys of Madina.
Ya Rasul'Allah! assist me, as I compose verses,
portraying the helplessness of your brother, Ali.
It is time for the dawn prayers,
and Ali has left for the mosque.
The perception of vague restless in the birds,
as they clasp the cloak of my Master,
with their beaks.
Ya Rasul'Allah! assist me, as I walk in the path of my Master.
" Allahu Akbar " - " Allah is Great ";
and Ali knelt in humbleness.
" Allahu Akbar" - " Allah is Great";
and he leveled his forehead to the ground.
Ya Rasul'Allah! assist me. I hear cries from the praying men.
" Ali is martyred! " " Woe onto us! "
echoed in every corner of the mosque.
With eyes flooded with tears,
and a heart furnished with sorrow,
I leapt forward to catch a glimpse of my darling Master.
Ya Rasul'Allah! assist me!
My Ali, drowning in his pure blood,
with the onset of weakness.
His eyes searched through the crowd,
longing to meet his brother's eyes.
Ya Rasul'Allah Ali is waiting for you.
The final sight of my Master,
with his face smeared in blood,
he raised his hands higher,
and said; " I submit to His Eminent Will ".
Ya Rasul'Allah I exclaimed, petrified;
my Ali was indeed oppressed!

© Sahar Hussain
[Shawwal 1426]

[Sahar Hussain]

Masjide Kufa
(A narration of the pillars of the Masjid)

The niche in the mosque speaks by itself,
narrating a tale so merciless.
I walk closer to it;
holding my breath;
trying to hear it's narration;
" I were once a place where a man stood,
bending down in humility and prostrating to All Good.
His voice were the voice of the God;
its calmness would lighten & soothe me.
Tears of love would flow from him;
in an ocean of enchantment he would gently swim.
In his eyes nothing but beauty lied,
with his heart rending wails, the angels cried.
With a trembling body he would kneel down,
and in his world of supplication he would drown.
I would shake whenever he called onto his Lord,
his every call was truly given an accord.
By God; never had I heard such an painfilled voice !
my bricks would awaken and by his sound rejoice.
It were a delight to see him at every prayer,
adding to the encountership a pleasant flavour.
This beautiful sight on a morn was ended,
in the month of fasting the angel of death upon him descended.
my man laid down his head in perfect devotion;
at a sudden a devil striked his evil potion.
his thoughtful mind were cut into two;
the last I would see him; I had no clue.
He were poisoned so bitterly; yet by Islam abode;
to his killer a lesson of divine justice he showed."
His name, Ali - the moon of Islam;
His name patterened in the letters of Quran.

© Sahar Hussain
[Ramadhan 1425]

[Sahar Hussain]

Ali (as) - The Selfless King


The majestic euphony of his recital,
becalming the troubled land of medina,
a note of which
revives my soul.

he read, and he wept,
and his tears delivered the message,
the one that unlocks every gated heart,
with a motherly stroke of unbounded warmth.

what pained him was the unheard pleas of the oppressed,
& the famishment of the orphan child.
Ali, with the bag of dates,
and milk- and the dark alleys of medina.

his Zahra- the tafseer of al-dahr,
and he, sustaining what his beloved entrusted him with.
he travelled amid the unlit lanes,
and spread radiance through his love.

he is Ali- the selfless king,
and his ring a solace for the beggar
who sought peace at his locale.

compiled within the threads of his prayer mat,
the long hours of genuflection,
and the scars on his feet- relaying the love.

he is Ali-
ask medina's water well of Ali,
his heart flooded with unspoken tales,
and his spirit wounded.

he read, and he wept,
and his tears delivered the message,
and the water well echoed along ...

© Sahar Hussain
- 28th Jamadi Al-Thani 1428

[Sahar Hussain]

Moon in despair

Gently depart O weeping moon,
for your tears shall awaken the sun
do not foretell of the great tragedy-
for; the sun would melt upon its tale.

Tonight escape into the darkness,
hide your radiance, obscure it by gloomy clouds.
do not outbreak. let the history witness,
how the first oppressed soul breathes his last.

And with worried dull glimpses-
the moon withdraws its light, retreating to its harbor.
... pleading before sun,
delay your arrival.

Tonight, when the prince of believers
would wet his face and beard with ablution-
his eyes would fall onto the direction of Medina,
and a melody of love would tread its path.

He remembered the Prophet,
and tears ran down his cheeks.
How dearly he longed to reunite with him,
life had narrowed its grip for Ali.

He remembered his Zahra,
and pain tendered his chest.
How much he loved to see her smile,
but alas, her bruised arms, broken ribs; fueled his tears.

He stood up, in humility;
with firm steps he advanced to the locale-
carpeting his last prostration before his Lord.
and, the cackling of pet ducks, as they circled Ali.

“This is death summoning me”,
he whispered. The ducks wailed in return.
He smiled. A devout servant of God was he.
and with this, he left home.

“Allahu Akbar”- Allah is great
read his lips.
He prepared for his last prayer,
knowing when the blow of enemy would rest on his head.

“Allahu Akbar”- Allah is great
and he bowed down in prostration.
from the scabbard Ibn Muljam drew the lustrous blade,
its ends he held with enmity.

The sword-cut through sharply,
severing the head of Zahra’s tranquil.
He fell. his blood dyeing his beard.
with all his love, he read aloud;
“I swear by the Lord of Ka’bah, I have been successful”.

© Sahar Hussain
23rd Ramadhan 2008

[Sahar Hussain]

Random Couplets on Imam Ali (as)

My lips and the heartily whispers of Ali Ya Ali,
How can I simply condone?
When my clay and molding stands to tribute
My unbounded regards for the father of sand.
------
Ali and Mustafa are a single part,
How can then one tear open this bond
Would then, not the Prophet shun away from you
If his brother you abandon in disregard?
------
Ali’s love; a tree at paradise
His lovers, those clinging to the branches of this tree
Their faces, radiant on the day of summoning
And themselves they find in blissful company of the Prophet.
------
Then I ask;
What harm does it bring?
To follow the Prophet’s practice
And read out “Oh Ali assist me!”
before undertaking a task that strains all backs…
It is the brilliant hand of Ali,
That unties the knots for all burdens
Through the strength that Allah endowed upon him
------
Ali –
The flag bearer at Khaybar and Khandaq
Ali –
The solace of Muhammad’s heart
Ali –
The one for whom the wall of Kaba breaks open
In acceptance of his blessed arrival
Ali –
Whose endearing smile at Muhammad
Made the angels celebrate on the union of king and prince.
------
At a tender age of youth,
Mother taught me the chant of Nade Ali
And instructed its recital
As a symbol of strength
Whenever the hour of need dawns.
------
Oh Lord of Ali,
For the sake of Ali,
Answer our prayers
And hasten the reappearance of the son of Ali.


© Sahar Hussain

[Sahar Hussain]

Bismillah and Ali

Moonlight by the sea shore of thoughts
As I sail through its cold waters
Wishing my words could mimic its chemistry
And flow along with the courtesy of abundance
That fulfils the longing of beloved’s charisma

If only life could spare moments out
And my pen dies on my writings, a hundred times and again
Even then, I would not have brought justice
To the station of him, who is defined as the dot for Bismillah.

I have feared that my words would fail to express
The notion of excellence to the excelling soul
A tribute that needs no voice
In the presence of his eloquent Nahjal Balaghah
What then, of my songs can I hymn in his praise?
When his sermons and sayings speaks on its own
To the hundred generations that have never seen his face
Nor heard his words across the pulpits afar
But yet, the seeds of his love they’ve reaped at heart.
He is Ali, who spoke through chosen scripts
And let his heart preach, with his hands at practice.


He is Ali, the prince whose arrival made history
Angels’ exchanged glad tidings on his coming
And his birth
Left signs, that shall remain forever evident
Engraved in the heart of Kaba’s walls;
As a salute to the awakening of justice

He is Ali,
In whose regard, Allah revealed His command
Mandating his love on all inhabitants of earth and heavens alike
Oh Ali, what is the secret to your friendship
And to your love treasured in people’s hearts?
Is it?
Your bravery,
Your knowledge and wisdom
Your courtesy
Your eloquent speech
Your justness
Your love for humanity
Your self-sacrifice
Your modesty and mercy

By the Lord in whose mercy rests my life
I cannot single out a special trait amid your noble character
True said,
You are the living expression of goodness
That strengthens our beliefs
True said,
You are the dot of Bismillah
Without which nothing is complete.

© Sahar Hussain
13th Rajab 2009

[Sahar Hussain]

Revival of Love

---------
The silent night, shadowed in grief
Withholding its cries
Suppressing its thunders
The moon of this city no longer brims with glow
And the stars, casketed –
Shivering in the faintly lit sky
Foretelling of the tale that shall bring an end to this dawn
The dawn of justice
The dawn of Ali & his pleasant calls of athan
The dawn of dawn that came after years of deprivation
And the silence that tore opens the princes’ chest
As he sits thereby, grieve-struck by the well-side
Emptying the hundred sighs that consumed his strength
Into a single chapter of supplication
adding to the citations of his whispers to beloved.
He is Ali
The lion of God
The one who stood before all enemy, fearless…
But just when his forehead rests in prostration before his Lord
In sublime humility,
His tears roll down
The munajaat of Ali is then heard
In every pillar and brick of Masjide Kufa
“My Lord, o my Lord, you are the Great and I am the insignificant.
Who else can be merciful to the insignificant, except the Great?”
By He in whose mercy rests my soul!
None could dare to parallel him in this state
The angels were silenced as he supplicated
And his supplications wept when Ali departed.

---------
Rise o sun
Rise and commit to the circle of life
And open the dawn’s ray once again
Let the 19th of this month prevail
Let the face of truth conquer all hearts
Bring an end to the wounds that have lacerated
Deep within the cache of princes’ chest
I ask, with the ink of my tears
Running over the notes that I’ve penned down
“Has the line for tolerance ever been drawn?”
Then why does the ambience set back trails
Repressing the elements of this life
Upon the back that shouldered the banner of faith
What deafness had shadowed upon those who were once in favor of truth?
What more truth could Allah assemble for them in this life?
Their fate lays in dark, & darkness is their terminal abode
For they failed to perceive the evident,
The majesty of Allah’s creation
As He molded Ali’s character with finest of traits
Rise o sun,
Reunite Ali with his beloved
Be an answer to Ali’s long nightly prayers
An answer to the supplication of kumail
O' my God! My Lord! My King! And Master! Which of the matters shall I complain to Thee and for which of them shall I bewail and weep?
Rise o sun,
Reunite Ali with his beloved
Yield an end to this long separation
Submit to the divine decree
Reunite Ali with his Lord

---------
The time for awakening this dawn has come
And Ali, performs the ablution with purest of waters
His cloak perfumed with the heavenly scent of musk
He knows… he is soon to depart.
The quacking of ducks as they follow his suite
Perhaps to beg some last generous glances of prince before he leaves

---------
He is the prince of believers, the mercy of God
His footsteps, how solace-filled it sounds
Hear it o kufa
These are the last moments of the prince
He heads towards the mosque
An eyeful at Ibn Muljam,
And an exchange of greetings
He looked at his killer again and smiled
Inviting him to join in the morning prayers
Allahu Akbar!
Hear it o kufa
Hear the beautiful sound of his athan
You’ll long for this harmonious call once the prince departs.
And finally,
The new dawn, dawns for orphans
And their rejuvenated tales of misery
As they await with the fall of dusk
For their compassionate guardian’s steps
Whom they’ll never meet again
Nor hear from again
Hear it o kufa,
Hear the last words of Ali,
For its enchanting melody
Shall forever echo in this deserted locale
'I am victorious, by the Lord of the Kaaba'

©Sahar Hussain
Ramadhan 2009